Or, since I use a phone case that’s kind of hard to open (I like the ones that are ostensibly water-sealed), a MintyBoost instead. I can easily get a day of track-logging off the amount of charge that I get from a pair of AA batteries. (Lithium have the highest energy-to-mass ratio of the ones on the mass market.)
These thermoelectric devices get a lot of discussion in on-line hiking fora, but I’ve never seen one on the trail, while I do see a lot of spare batteries and various sorts of external chargers. (NewTrent seems to be a popular brand.) What I actually see out there (more or less in order of popularity) is:
Canister stoves (fired by propane/isobutane) such as the Jetboil or Pocket Rocket.
Homebuilt methanol-fueled stoves made from aluminium containers. (My personal choice for three seasons.)
Naphtha-fueled stoves such as the Whisperlite. (My personal choice if I might need to melt snow for water.)
Twig-fired stoves like the ones Qi Wiz sells. Often homebuilt.
Cubes of hexamine or trioxane.
Going stoveless.
Zip stoves, phone-charger stoves, solar concentrators, and similar doodads, like backpack-mounted solar panels, remain curiosities because they’re HEAVY. This thing weighs five times as much as my entire cooking kit (less fuel, which amounts to about 40 g/day). I could carry a lot of batteries in that sort of weight (trip duration would be limited by other consumables).
And, on the off-topic thread, I carry a PLB when planning to go off trail, or solo, or in deep winter, or above treeline. (All of which are higher risk than a group trip on an established trail in milder weather.) The key safety difference is that the PLB signal can be triangulated in the field. It doesn’t need to be able to see a whole GPS constellation to get the word out. Mine does the combination of data packet on 406 MHz and “whoop whoop whoop” on 121.5.
It’s better with a thermoelectric generator, indeed, but there would be no 2nd Law violation with a dynamo, any more than there is with the other generator.
The energy is coming from the wood.
Indeed, if it were powered with a dynamo, it would be essentially identical to a coal-fired power plant: the plant needs some energy to get it started, it heats up stuff (water or anything else) that powers a dynamo (or, more strictly, an alternator) that produces electricity, and some of that electricity is used to power the fans that keep the power plant going.
I think we’ve got the cart before the horse here. Get the right iPhone and it can start a fire itself, without any fancy doodads or wool wood-gathering. No violations of the second law of thermodynamics, just (potentially) the first law of robotics.
I came up with my own Law of Anti-Dilettantism some time ago: there is no game, hobby, pastime, or leisure activity that can’t be overthought by someone who treats it like a competition even if there is no competition existing, or even possible. I came up with it after someone butted in while I was playing solitaire and said that I was doing it wrong, and refused to accept my explanation that I was playing by my rules.
Guessing this was more of an adventure in a beautiful area/weather, and not a suicidal thing? Sort of a check flight for the survival kit?
I’ve been found by hunters while hiking, but not at the moments where I wanted to be found (i.e. dropping a loaf).
As for the stove, 2lbs is a substantial outlay for a stove/charger even though I think it’s a cool idea. The alcohol stoves built by DIY hikers are close to weightless, and my own MSR Whisperlite is damned light and more than effective if used properly.
Lastly, it’s worth considering that a lot of parks require campers to bring their own fuel into the park instead of having people thrash live trees or animal habitat to gather firewood. The Biolite probably doesn’t require the same amount of fuel as an open fire but it still broaches that requirement (should it exist at the intended campsite).
I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw a BoingBoing post with your name on it that wasn’t arguing belligerently and interminably about something stupid, pointless, or both. Are you really only here to trolley?
But I’ll bite on your bait anyway, because I’m a sucker for a chance at a good metaphor: A pager is “more or less” a telephone in the same way that a diesel generator is “more or less” a car, i.e. not at all. Using the same technology doesn’t make them the same thing.
The discussion I engaged in - which is now by and large finished and done with - you call “interminable”, while actively trying to dredge it back up to the surface and prolong it?
My argumentation - which in no way involved personal insults or attacks of any kind - you call “belligerent”, and cite as grounds for personally insulting and attacking me?
And the topic of discourse - which clearly both I and everyone else who engaged in it felt was neither stupid nor pointless, given that we bothered to even discuss it - you arrogantly dismiss as being both stupid and pointless, despite having played no meaningful part?
Yes, clearly I’m the one who is driving trollies. Blast, you’ve found me out! My nefarious plans, foiled by your gallantry and superior moral fibre!
For the campstove part is it notably better than a coffee can with holes cut in the bottom sides? The product page seems kind of vague, but that’s what it looked like to me. That’s an old old boy scout trick and it works well and costs considerably less than $130 but won’t trickle charge a cellphone.
